John Howard is the Business Editor at BusinessPundit.com. He is an avid watcher of markets, a wallflower of retail, and a fan of disruptive businesses that utilize technology and unique ideas to form brilliant new ways of doing business. He can be reached at JohnHoward@BusinessPundit.com

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Priceline CEO Darren Huston resigns after having affair with employee

Priceline CEO Darren Huston resigned from his post on Thursday after an investigation found that he had an improper relationship with an employee.

The company had previously launched an investigation against the CEO and found that his actions were contrary to the online travel company’s code of conduct and that he “engaged in activities inconsistent” with that expected of executives.

Priceline did not reveal who the “personal” relationship was with but said it was an employee under his “direct” supervision.

The company also said Huston’s resignation is not “in any way” related to its operational performance or financial condition.

Priceline will forfeit part of his unvested stock rewards and he will not receive any severance payments.

Huston acknowledged the affair and expressed regret over the relationship.

Huston is being replaced immediately by the company’s chairman Jeffery Boyd, who will serve as interim CEO and president of Priceline. Boyd has been with Priceline for 16 years and he led the company between 2002 and 2013 as president and CEO.

“We are confident the company is in strong hands while we conduct a search for a new CEO,” James Guyette, Priceline’s lead independent director, said in a statement. He added that he’s “satisfied” with the “thorough review” of the Huston situation.

Houston has operated as the CEO of Priceline since January 2014. He was previously an executive at Microsoft.

The company paid him with $22 million in total compensation in 2014, including a base salary of $750,000 and $14 million in stock awards.

Shares at Priceline slipped by less than 1% following the announcement.